If Candlemas day be fair and bright, Winter will have another flight; If on Candlemas day it be shower and rain, Winter is gone, and will not come again.

Understand the thought

Meaning in plain English

The saying reverses the apparent meaning of Candlemas weather: sunshine foretells more winter, while showers promise its end. It is a date-based forecasting rhyme.

What the words are saying

Fair weather is made the unwelcome sign and rain the reassuring one. That reversal gives the verse its memorable structure. The explanation describes the rule without certifying it. It does not establish that one day determines the rest of winter or that the seasonal ending can be known with certainty. A careful reading treats the prediction as the saying’s claim.

Everyday example

Someone reading contrasting weather rhymes notices that a pleasant day is assigned the less pleasant forecast here.

When to use it

Use it to examine the reversal in a calendar prediction.

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Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.